Cisco Unveils New Suite Of Security Products

Cisco Systems says it is concerned about your company’s server security.

The San Jose, Calif.-based computer-networking equipment maker Tuesday released a suite of new security products it says will help small and large companies and telecommuters from online attacks.

Fresh off the production line is Cisco’s IDS Host Sensor, a host-based solution for enterprise-wide intrusion protection. The CiscoWorks VPN/Security Management Solution, starts at $7,995.

Cisco is also offering a standalone model for $5,000. Both are available separately starting at $1,750 for Standard Edition and $2,150 for Web Server edition.

The company says the Sensor is capable of stopping both known and unknown attacks, including the notorious Code Red Worm virus. It also features a database that can be automatically updated with defined and generic attack behaviors affecting server resources, providing additional protection against future threats and vulnerabilities.

Unlike traditional host-based intrusion detection systems (IDS), which log attacks but do nothing to prevent them, Cisco IDS Host Sensor software proactively detects malicious activity and blocks access to server resources before serious damage can occur.

“The new Sensor is an important extension of Cisco’s security monitoring and management portfolio, giving customers comprehensive network and host-based intrusion detection capabilities,” says Richard Palmer, Cisco VPN and Security Services business unit vice president and general manager.

Home Sweet Protected Home

For smaller offices and telecommuters with always-on broadband Internet connections, Cisco released its PIX 501 Firewall, starting at $595.

The PIX 501 has enterprise-class security capabilities, including stateful inspection firewalling, virtual private network (VPN) and intrusion protection as well as support for URL filtering, content filtering and other third party solutions from Cisco AVVID (Architecture for Voice, Video, and Integrated Data) partners.

The firewall also includes a 4-port, 10/100 Mbps switch for convenient sharing of broadband connections in small office or home network environments. In addition, the PIX 501 offers a rich set of remote management capabilities, including embedded, Web-based single-device management using PIX Device Manager (PDM), and highly scalable, GUI-based, multi-firewall management from Cisco Secure Policy Manager (CSPM), as well as support for syslog, SNMP and telnet/SSH.

“Last fall, we introduced our PIX 535 firewall, delivering true gigabit throughput for very large enterprises,” says Palmer. “Today’s announcement makes PIX technology available to smaller companies and remote offices that traditionally have not been able to afford the level of protection they deserve.”

Both the IDS Host Sensor and PIX 501 Firewall are based on Cisco’s SAFE blueprint, a blueprint for security and VPN networks, based on Cisco AVVID.

Make Mine Safe

As more companies roll out e-Business applications, they need to adopt security measures to protect their electronic business.

Recent estimates from The Yankee Group say somewhere between 70 to 80 percent of broadband users have their networks probed, and almost half of those have had information retrieved from their systems.

The Computer Security Institute’s 2001 Computer Crime and Security Survey found that cybercrime tallied up $378 million in losses among 186 companies that were able to quantify their damages in 2001.

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